The Thin Man 

Over the years, I've become slightly obsessed with bicycle work spaces, shops, tools and tool storage. In my past workshop I hung it all on a massive pegboard. It looked awesome, everything was in reach but it was just so... much. Plus those damn metal hooks were always falling off.
Thinking to auto mechanics and motorcycle mechanics, you never see pegboards. Only, it seems, in bicycle shops. The most used tools in an auto shop are the same as ours plus combination wrenches so why no love for the pegboard? I'm curious about that but without losing my topic focus, it got me thinking that maybe having my gear put away in a labeled, organized manner is a better way to go.

So, I am asking for your images and experiences with vessels to store bicycle tools. Things like those gorgeous, wooden delights known as machinist tool boxes, standard metal tool boxes and rolling tool cabinets. Come at me with your best images and experiences so people searching for this very same thing in the future can have a solid repository of information to sink their teeth into.

non-fixie 

I have tried various solutions, but always came back to this simple box. Not as easy to grab the correct wrench in a split second as when it's on a peg board, but for schlepping my tools around the house and taking them with me on trips it works great. The biggest advantage, I find, is not having to think about what tools to take along on a trip. I just close the box and put it in the car. Except for my headset cup press it contains all my tools, and a small cardboard box with an assortment of bits and bobs and small spares that might come in handy (like a spare seat post binder bolt).

100bikes

A little drop of hot melt glue will keep those peg board hooks in place.

The variety and usability of bicycle tools is interesting. Probably over 70% have a single use, so keeping them at hand makes little(space saving)
sense. Wall space is at a premium, so I use rolling tool boxes.

Oh yes, the Campagnolo kit lives in it's box.

rusty

ramzilla

I spent my younger working years as an HVAC mechanic and, electrician. Later, I obtained an Engineering degree and became a construction manager. Tried all sorts of tool boxes & rigging bags. In my shop the tool box must have drawers & be able to roll around. I've never wanted all my stuff on a peg board on the wall. That's it. That's all. Done deal.


Also, notice the neat plastic bins next to bike in picture. I can disassemble an entire bike (minus frames & wheels) into one of these bins. Keeping everything together. So, if I have to do multiple projects I can put the bike on the shelf for a while. These particular bins are from Walmart and sold in the pet department as kitty litter trays.

dddd

The peg boards in a bike shop would seem to perhaps better suit their use and organization by a number of mechanics, versus each mechanic having their own roll-away of tools as in automotive shops.
The rollaway is also suited to moving a mechanic from one service bay to another.
The peg board approach also facilitates the owner keeping track of any disappearance of tools, as where the public is perhaps allowed to enter and use the service area.

I like pegboard-style tool storage for the ability to mark each of several similar tool's size in plain view, versus a rack of sockets that all look the same but for a 1mm difference in size. To this end, my sockets and sized wrenches are collected from all different brands of pieces, each socket/wrench size thus distinguishable from near-same adjacent sizes by their unique appearance. Such is one advantage of shopping for such tools at flea markets and pawn shops!

The shallow drawers of a rollaway are awesome for keeping large sets of say Dremel tools, files or tapping tools in one place, yet still easy to pick from.

Open shelving and Akro-Mills mini-drawers also have a significant presence in my shop.

Another form of storage I exploit are cut-down boxes (left about 3-4" high) with extra layers of cardboard glued into the bottom. A filler panel takes up the space between the side flaps and covers the slot between the main flaps. Then a second panel glued in on top of that leaves a smooth surface and in total creates laminated board-like stiffness for holding piles of heavier parts like bottom brackets or freewheels.

DrIsotope

I am not a toolbox guy. Over 25 years as a woodworker, and I've never used any sort of drawer unit with more than 4-5 drawers in it. All the drawers in my shop right now are used to hold raw materials, save for one-- which is chock full of taps and dies.
For tools, I'm all about pegboard. I have so, so much pegboard. For the whole shop, it has to be around 8 sheets worth, easily over 200sq/ft of it. They now make these hooks that won't fall out-- I go through them at an alarming rate.

My workstation is what it is-- a bike area that moved into an already existing woodshop. so in the middle of the shop, the bike tools share space with a bandsaw, combo sander, and Bladerunner.


To the left of that is the workstand, fitted with a tool caddy for the most commonly used tools. The workstand is of the table-mount variety, clamped into a woodworker's vise (of course.)


Just behind that is... well, most everything else for bikes, I suppose. Bike bits, fasteners, wax pots, etc. This corner used to house a scroll saw and lots of clamps.

jiangshi

branko_76 

I prefer my tools on the wall. I'm a carpenter and have to lug my tools in a tool box from job to job and it's a pain keeping them organized.

Piff 

I picked this up from a garage sale last year for $50. Had me smiling for a month.











I wish Some guy wants 2 grand for it on my local Craigslist... https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/...132337828.html

thumpism 

This is what I was used to in my shop days and decided I'd repeat it in the garage, but that has not happened yet. The old basement had a nice full-length bench with a yellow board that never got the tools mounted. It's been the Craftsman toolbox for about 30 years now, first on that basement bench and right now it's on a rolling cart.

Lascauxcaveman 

I'm kinda 'meh' on pegboard myownself. But boy, do I love magnetic strips! I've got a bunch of them lined along the window side of my shop:



Yes, I do live in a rain forest. And no, it's not a happy home for leather saddles

thumpism 

Y'see, I have a forest out back and that's why I need windows in the back wall, hopper or awning windows high up with the tool board below. It'll happen.

branko_76 

Lascauxcaveman , that is not only practical, but very pleasing to the eye as well

I don't like peg-board much either, that's why I used some reclaimed fir plywood. I laid everything out with the boards flat on some saw horses, mounted the hooks and then the whole thing to the wall.

iab

Mine is not so fancy. And I don't have a lot of stuff.

Tools. Spares. Consumables.

Basement77 by iabisdb, on Flickr



And I just organized my smalls.

2020-06-05_06-42-21 by iabisdb, on Flickr

BFisher

Valentines gift from my wife 14 years ago.

thinktubes 

Definitely a toolbox guy. I like to work outside when possible and it's also handy if I have to go on the road to wrench.

The Thin Man 

I knew this post wouldn't disappoint. I want to thank everyone for showing their spaces and telling how they do what they do. This is all really valuable to me.

This may be one that I have to see. Pictures please!

This is one of those simple ideas that I can't believe I haven't ever thought of or heard before. So. Easy. I'm going to absolutely try that.

That is a fantastic idea. Even if you only work on one bike at a time, having a bin like this makes sense. Putting dirty parts on a clean work space is counter productive.

By far my favorite setup.

Prowler 

I have a lot of tools as I do a lot of things, bicycles being just part of it. The bike specific tools are kept in three places. The seldom seen are up in the loft. The frequently seen are in this Craftsman tool chest we got from our "hay guy" for $5. Nice condition after I cleaned it up and made an insert tray for the top compartment. The most frequently seen hand tools are kept in the workbench in a half motor oil bottle. You'll see that I've cut a few motor oil bottles in half, cleaned them out and use them to organize my tools. I also have a couple of translucent plastic boxes that torx drive deck screws from Home Depot come in. Good solid boxes with a snap lid - for storing odds and ends.

The rest of the tools are all over the shop, waiting for the call for wood working, metal working, electrical repair, tractor repairs, who-noz-watz-next repairs.

steve sumner

to my mind throwing tools in a box is anti-organization. I also feel that pegboard
is limiting. my tool board is plywood and the tools hang on nails.

The Golden Boy 

I thought I had pix handy- but I have a gray 60s rolling Craftsman chest with 2 drawers and an opening top on the top- that used to be my Grandfather's. There's also a red rolling Craftsman chest probably from the 80s that used to be my wife's Grandfather's.